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At 28 cents per gallon gasoline was expensive in constant dollars. It was also 40 to 60 octane compared to regular today of 87 octane. It wasn't until the late 20's that octane ratings were increased with tetraethyl lead. Gasoline engines early 20's had a compression ratio not more than 4.3:1 compared to 10:1 or more today. The good old days.

Thanks, the other pumps were right there and I didn't see them. Which reminds me of a story:

Years ago the legendary engineer Phil Irving was a houseguest and during a visit to my shop I asked him if he ever had the experience of laying a spanner down on the workbench, going elsewhere to do something, and upon returning the tool is just gone.

He told me it happens so often that he coined a term for it:
mental invisibility. The spanner is where you left it but you just don't see it in your mind. I've always wondered about this.

I have seen the old square bulk engine oil tanks with the hand pump to fill a spigot quart can. Such a can seems to be next to those three odd looking devices in front of the lattice fence. Are they fancy oil pumps?

[There are two sets of these in the photos. The ones on the left are labeled with signs. In the second photo they all have signs. - Dave]

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.